AirTalk

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Kimberly Shriner, infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.

Today’s topics include: 

CDC Director: mask guidance based on science 

LA County still reporting decline in COVID-19 cases 

Teens can get vaccinated, but some remain wary  

Some aren’t ready to give up masking and maybe never will be

Gov. Newsom says he won’t require vaccine for prison staff

LAUSD to launch vaccination campaign for students

Guest:

Kimberly Shriner, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena

Today on AirTalk, we get the latest news on COVID-19. Also on the show, we discuss why industries are having a hard time finding workers; break down the newest movie releases with our KPCC critics; and more.

As more Americans become vaccinated and economic sectors increasingly reopen, the country is facing a startling conundrum— unemployment is high, but many industries cannot find workers.

Restaurants, manufacturing and construction are the sectors most affected, though it's a phenomenon seen across many professions. The shortage is in part due to worker’s fears around contracting or spreading COVID-19, particularly in workplaces that might call for sharing confined spaces with many people. Though vaccines are incredibly effective against the virus, the scale of loss Americans have endured over the course of the pandemic has left many hesitant to return to work if they don’t have to. But part of the gap in hiring is also due to the myriad workforce shakeups that the pandemic prompted— including low-wage workers switching careers, more parents staying at home in the absence of childcare and older Americans opting for early retirement. Without robust hiring, many industries might see slowdowns, which could jeopardize an otherwise strong economic recovery.

Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about why some industries are having difficulty hiring new workers. Have you decided to switch industries or not go back to work after the pandemic? We want to hear from you! Give us a call at 866-893-5722.

Guest:

Eugene Cornelius, Jr., senior director of the Center for Regional Economics and California Center at The Milken Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan economic think tank; he has held several public service positions, most recently as senior advisor to the Office of International Trade in the U.S. Small Business Administration

Although Native Americans are one of the most at-risk groups in contracting COVID-19, they've been the most successful at vaccinating their populations. 

NPR reported that the Navajo Nation had vaccinated more than half of its adult population, which surpasses the U.S. national vaccination rate.

At one point, the Navajo Nation was a hotbed for coronavirus cases as it had the third-highest infection rate in the country in April 2020. Right before the turn of the new year, the Nation suffered from a massive second wave of cases that spread across 75 of its communities. Now, cases rates have dropped with most of the Navajo population being inoculated, so much so that they’re sending their own relief resources to India for that country’s surging cases. 

But leaders in the Navajo territory still take precaution in fully committing to guidelines set by the CDC. According to the Navajo Times, face masks are still required to be worn in public, and there is a daily curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. (MDT).

Today on AirTalk, we discuss the trajectory of the Navajo Nation's vaccination campaign, and how they were able to bounce back from its once high infection rate.  

Guest:

Loretta Christensen, M.D., chief medical officer at the Navajo Area Indian Health Service

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Dean Blumberg from UC Davis Children’s Hospital.  

Topics today include:

There might be a shortage of special syringes, leading to vaccine waste

WHO considers EUA of Chinese vaccine 

Pfizer and BioNTech apply for full FDA approval 

Poll: socializing maskless might not incentive unvaccinated people 

Is vaccine approval for 12-15 year olds imminent? 

Guest:

Dean Blumberg, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital; he tweets @DBlumbergPedsID

Today on AirTalk, we discuss LA County's move into the yellow tier and break down other COVID-19 headlines. Also on the show, we talk with members of the Mayor’s Office Civic Memory Working Group about their key findings; analyze the rise in 'gray divorce'; and more.

A new poll conducted in late March by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research noted that 88% of the public would like to live their twilight years in their home as opposed to a long-term care facility.

And for good reason, with some long-term care facilities having a track record of health violations and mistreatment of residents, it leaves people wanting alternatives to the current systems set in place for elderly care. With that in mind-- what is the best way to achieve this?

Part of the reason families even put their elderly in a facility is due to financial restraints, with most people not being able to afford a private caretaker that can assist a family’s older relatives on a day-to-day basis.

It’s these problems that politicians have tried to address, whether it be at the federal level or the state. In the state of California, governor Gavin Newsom’s administration released a master plan for aging, a comprehensive framework that would in theory assist families that need help taking care of its elderly family members at home. This also plays in with the push for greater federal funding for at-home care, with the Biden administration looking to add a $400 billion expansion of caretaking services through his infrastructure plan.

Today on AirTalk, we talk to one of the experts who played a part in California’s master plan, as well as an expert who can speak to recent technology developments that will benefit people trying to age at home. Do you support elderly getting the chance to age at home? What policies do you think could be implemented? Join the conversation and call us at 866-893-5722.

Guests:

Donna Benton, research associate professor of gerontology at USC; she was also appointed to the Stakeholder Advisory Committee for the CA Master Plan for Aging; she tweets @donnabentonphd

Pinchas Cohen, M.D., professor of gerontology, medicine and biological sciences and dean of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at USC

In 2019, Mayor Garcetti formed a panel of forty scholars, historians, architects and other cultural leaders to reassess its official relationship with its history - both the good and the bad. 

The subcommittees spanned from Indigenous Land Acknowledgement and the Work of Decolonization to Monuments and Markers

Last week, the group released a 166 page report with its recommendations, which include creating a City historian position, creating a monument to the people killed in the 1871 Chinese Massacre and considering the creation of a museum dedicated to the city.

We sit down with three members of the Mayor’s Office Civic Memory Working Group to discuss initiative, from its genesis to its recommendations. 

Guests: 

Eric Avila, professor of history and Chicano studies at UCLA; Los Angeles historian and author of the book “The Folklore of the Freeway: Race and Revolt in the Modernist City” (University of Minnesota Press, May 2014)

Ken Bernstein, principal city planner for the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, where he oversees the city’s Office of Historic Resources, which is responsible for L.A.’s historic preservation; he also leads the department’s Urban Design Studio, which works with private development projects and major civic investments; his recent book is “Preserving Los Angeles: How Historic Places Can Transform America's Cities” (Angel City Press, April 2021)

Leslie Ito, executive director of the Armory Center for the Arts

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Annabelle De St. Maurice of UCLA/Mattel Children’s Hospital.

Today's topics include:

What to expect from restaurants and bars in the yellow tier 

Read the guidance here 

U.S. support for waiving intellectual property rights brings hope to global south 

Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine is 96% effective in teens 

Moderna says its COVID-19 booster shots show promise against variants 

Giving two doses of different COVID-19 vaccines could boost immune response 

Pfizer seeks clearance in September for its vaccine to be used on children as young as aged 2.

How many COVID-19 deaths are acceptable in a post-pandemic world? 

California reports 'breakthrough' cases after COVID vaccines 

How California’s new mask guidelines differ from the CDC’s 

Guest:

Annabelle De St. Maurice, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases and the co-chief infection prevention officer at University of California Los Angeles/Mattel Children’s hospital; she tweets @destmauricemd

Bill and Melinda Gates said Monday that they are divorcing but would keep working together at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest charitable foundations in the world.

Their split after 27 years of marriage came as a shock to some, but it’s reflective of recent trends in so-called “gray divorce.” According to reporting in the WSJ, even though the overall U.S. divorce rate in the last few decades has gone down, it’s doubled among couples 50 and older. 

And for adult children, navigating the divorce of their parents can be very difficult, despite perception that it should be “easier” than for a minor. If you got divorced over the age of 50, we want to hear from you about the experience. And if you’re an adult child of divorce, what was it like dealing with your parents split? Call us at 866-893-5722.

With files from the Associated Press

Guest:

Carol Hughes, Ph.D., licensed marriage and family therapist, collaborative divorce coach, neutral child specialist and mediator based in Laguna Hills, Orange County; she is the co-author of “Home Will Never Be the Same Again: A Guide for Adult Children of Gray Divorce” (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; June 2020)